Stonewall Bartender Remembers Life Before and After the Riots

Tree Sequoia, 76, has worked at the Stonewall Inn, the site of the 1969 riots, for 45 years. Life before the riots meant you risked imprisonment, being outed and ostracized from your family, he recalls. And after the riots, Sequoia said, it was the first time that members of the LGBT community could walk the streets with pride. Many historians credit the Stonewall riots as the catalyst that ignited the gay rights movement, led by trans women like Sylvia Rivera.

Caption from LIFE In commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, militants this year designated the last week in June as Gay Liberation Week and celebrated with a candlelight parade. The parade involved 300 male and female homosexuals, who marched without incident two miles from Gay Activists headquarters to a park near City Hall.

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Caption from LIFE When a bill guaranteeing equal job opportunities for homosexuals stalled in New York City Council last spring, militants demonstrated at City Hall. With fists raised, they shout a football style "Gay Power" cheer at police blocking the building.

Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Gay rights protest, 1971.

Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Caption from LIFE A homosexual activist steps between a pair of police horses to be interviewed during a New York demonstration. Militants often charge police brutality and welcome arrest for the sake of publicity. They also encourage press coverage of their protest actions.

Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Gay rights protest, 1971.

Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Gay rights protest, California, 1971.

Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Gay rights protest, New York, 1971.

Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Caption from LIFE Collared by a patrolman after he deliberately crossed police barricades at New York's City Hall, Gay Activists Alliance President Jim Owles submits to arrest. Members of his organization were protesting City Council reluctance to debate a fair employment bill for homosexuals.